Dreading Election Night TV Coverage? The Weather Channel Has The Perfect Answer

clinton trump

Next Tuesday, this country will wake up to one of the most highly publicized and polarizing presidential elections in recent history, as candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will at last reach the end of their controversy-filled campaign trails on Election Day. Considering our televisions have been filled with political coverage for well over a year now focused on these two, you might want to spend Tuesday evening watching anything but election news. That's where The Weather Channel comes in, and it's bringing a whole lot of rainbows and stuff.

"Rainbows, you say?" Yes, rainbows and much more beautiful and serene visuals. The Weather Channel announced this week that unlike so many other channels on TV, it won't be putting any focus on the future White House resident, and will instead opt to air a 9-hour marathon of "the most beautiful, awe-inspiring and calming weather video and scenery ever caught on tape," so that Americans who don't mind waiting until the end for results can spend an evening hopefully free from stress, outrage and the worst that social media has to offer. Relax.

So no, you won't be watching hair-raising storms on the open sea or tornadoes wrecking countrysides. We're talking magnificent cloud formations. We're talking autumn colors and calm breezes. We're talking about taking a step back from the ferocity of life to appreciate the planet we live on in high-definition, possibly like Planet Earth II without David Attenborough's glorious narration skills. If you only spend one nine-hour chunk of an evening in 2016 watching seasons change to the soothing sounds of non-fusion jazz, do it with The Weather Channel on Election Night. I think this is the best thing to come from this ordeal since Will & Grace's possible return.

Of course, if you don't want to check out the color spectrum at its finest, then there are more than enough places for you to watch election coverage. Broadcast networks and cable networks will be all over it, with much of it straightforward (or at least as straightforward as network ideals will allow). But alternate coverage will be out there as well, with Comedy Central giving both The Daily Show and @midnight live episodes that evening. And Stephen Colbert, who has had a fun time covering the election for The Late Show on CBS, is heading to Showtime for his own live special on Tuesday evening, titled Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale: Who's Going To Clean Up This Sh*t?. And I'm sure there are many more places to look for unique takes on our country's most democratic day.

The Weather Channel will kick off TV's most mellow marathon starting Tuesday, November 8, at 3:00 p.m. ET. We're pretty sure you're going to find out who the next POTUS is eventually anyway, so why not focus on lowering your blood pressure for a change?

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.